Memories of Maegyn
by ScribeAnimal
Summary: (Rewrite) A Female Commander in a fighter squadron is murdered and her lover ponders whether to go after her killer. Harm and Meg are thrown onto the investigation by AJ. In this AU, Meg stays with JAG, there is no sudden disappearance of Meg Austin. Major Sarah Mackenzie is there as well but she plays only a small role in this story. This is more about Harm, Meg and the OCs.
1. Prologue

"Memories of Maegyn"

Author: Haruo Chikamori

E-mail: hhchikamori

Rating: M

Classification: K

Spoilers: N/A

Summary: Season 1 JAG AU – A Young Commander in a fighter squadron is murdered and her lover ponders whether to go after her killer. Harm and Meg are thrown onto the investigation by AJ.

DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended. The characters that you don't know…well…the author has extracted them from his twisted mind.

PROLOGUE

Forward #4 Catapult Compartment

USS Theodore Roosevelt, CVN-71

The Mediterranean

1995

Two ABM (Aviation Boatswains Mates) Twos wandered along the passageway leading to the Forward #4 Catapult. It was the beginning of the next evolution for launching and recovering aircraft onboard the what was lovingly called "the Big Stick" or "TR" after the initials of it's namesake, President Theodore Roosevelt.

"You know, Carlos, we've been out here for four months." The first ABM2 said to the other. "I don't know if we're going to get stuck out here. The Bosnia situation has heated up so much that I think we're gonna be stuck for another four." His partner shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'Who knew?'

"You go on ahead, Carlos. I gotta hit the head." Jose Santiago said as he turned into the washroom on board carrier. "I'll be a few minutes." The door closed as Santiago went through. "Noticing that the door was ajar on the stalls, he thought to himself. 'COB's gonna kills whoever was supposed to straighten up the head. All the doors are supposed to be shut. Noticing that there was a pair of legs underneath the wall of the stall.

"Hello, are you OK?" Santiago called out. "Can I help you? Is something wrong?" There was no answer. So Santiago opened the door. The body of an officer, a female officer dressed in a khaki shirt, silver commander oak leaves on the collars and aviator wings above the left breast pocket of the shirt, was slumped over the toilet. She was naked from the waist down and it appeared to his untrained eyes that there were bruises on her arms as well as scratches. The khaki uniform trousers were nowhere to be seen. It was apparent that she was dead. "Madre de Dios." Santiago intoned in shock.

Alarmed he called for the MPs who promptly cordoned off the area.

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VA

Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden rubbed his forehead as he looked over a report. Having called for Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr and his investigative partner, Lieutenant Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin to report to him for a case, he felt a headache coming on as he looked at the particulars of the case. The knock on the door came shortly thereafter.

"Come in." he barked sharply. At least 2 seconds later, the door opened and in walked the tall attorney and his only slightly shorter blonde female partner. "Commander Rabb." He said once the two officers had squared up in front of his desk. He looked up at them over his glasses affixing them with a stony stare. "There's been a murder on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt" he paused, lifting the report partway to read the type on the report. "A Commander Maegyn O'Bannon was found dead in the men's washroom. Apparently she had been raped and strangled." The shock on Lieutenant Austin's face was noticeable. "I want the both of you to go investigate and find out what happened and who was responsible. I want that son of a bitch caught."

"Aye aye, sir!"

"You'll fly on a COD out of Oceana to Rota, then you'll go from there to the USS Theodore Roosevelt." AJ continued. "I want whoever is responsible caught before he has a chance to do that to someone else."

Harm and Meg looked at each other and nodded to the admiral. "Yes, sir."


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note: In this AU, Meg stays with JAG, there is no sudden disappearance of Meg Austin. Major Sarah Mackenzie is there as well but she plays only a small role in this story. This is more about Harm, Meg and the OCs.

USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71

The Mediterranean

A picture sat on a desk. It was a photo of a young woman, long flowing locks, a smile lighting up her face as she gazed into the what would have been the lens of the camera were it visible. It looked much like a photo of a woman in the prime of life, but it was bordered in black. The man sitting in the chair beside the desk contrasted the picture, dark, brooding. Flecks of gray speckled his black hair. His gaze rested on the picture, dark eyes, expressive in grief and fueled with a barely unquenchable rage, a thirst for revenge. ""Maegyn," the man sitting in the chair picked up the photo as he breathed her name softly, his eyes brimming in the solitude of his own stateroom on board the carrier. The man was dressed in khakis; eagles shining silver on his collars, his ribbons resplendent on a crisply ironed uniform. Topped along the khakis was a light rich blue ribbon, it's only decoration being five upside-down stars in an M pattern. Decorated and vetted, the man was a legend among his colleagues in the military. But none of that mattered to the man who was subsumed in grief at the death of his best friend.

Commander Maegyn "Irish" O'Bannon had been a friend and a comrade-in-arms, not to mention a closer kin-ship than most other military personnel would have known. Maegyn was a fighter pilot, an F-14 Tomcat pilot for the VF-41 The Black Aces squadron. Technically she was the squadron commander of the VF-41 Black Aces; a position that she had inherited from him. Within the uncertainty of Naval air operations and the stress of the uncertainty of the tensions building up in the Baltic, the two; CAG and squadron commander, had developed a relationship, unbeknownst to their colleagues. As lovers, they were passionate. A fiery romance, fueled by both their tempers, they were as quick to make up lovingly as to fight like cats and dogs. Normally under ordinary circumstances, the man thought to himself, the Navy would have hurried to an Article 133 Conduct Unbecoming An Officer. Ironic that the Medal of Honor had protected him, while the top brass had looked the other way; it hadn't protected his Maegyn any.

Irish was stunning. Her expressive green eyes would capture the heart of any man and hold his attention. It had held his. Her red hair was flame-red and beautiful. She was an absolutely breath-taking Celtic beauty. Born and bred in Boston, she was a die-hard Boston Bruins fan. Hockey ran in her blood, she knew the background of the Bruins, their Stanley Cup wins, the drought, and how she wanted to see them win another Stanley Cup. And the best times in their lives were when the two of them were taking bets on who would win the conference, his team which was the New York Rangers. Considering the two teams were of the Original Six that started the National Hockey League. Hockey and the military had brought them together. Despite their rivalry with their respective favorite hockey teams, they drew as close as the military regs would allow them, until one day, the regulations just became too restrictive.

The man stood up, paced over to his locker, opened up the safe and withdrew his issued sidearm, a Beretta M92FS. Taking it to his seat, he sat down to disassemble it and clean it. After the shock of hearing about Maegyn's death, he had to do something that was comforting to him. And that was running his hands along the sidearm that was going to help bring down whoever it was that was responsible for killing Maegyn. Whoever had done this to her needed to pay, with his life. And he knew that it was a man that was responsible. He knew the human psyche just as much as anyone and that the person responsible was a jealous psychopath who figured that if he couldn't have Maegyn, the man who had a relationship with her, couldn't have her either. What the person responsible couldn't know was that there was a dark side to the CAG, a side that he rarely let out except in the heat of battle; a vicious side that enabled him to kill whoever it was that opposed him.

A knock on the door interrupted him. Rear Admiral Tom Boone, the battlegroup commander, stood just in the door. "CAG."

"Admiral." The man acknowledged RADM Boone's presence as he would normally do, a snap-to-attention. But the admiral knew his CAG was wounded sorely though the scars couldn't be seen.

"CAG". Tom said. "I'm taking you off the flight roster. You've been angry and on-edge since Irish's death and that doesn't bode well on flight ops."

"Admiral, I do my job."

"Captain, I'm not saying you don't do your job, but your heart isn't in it. CAG…and if your heart ain't in it. You're either gonna get yourself killed or you're going to kill someone else who doesn't deserve it. And I'm not going to be answering to someone with more stars than me, about why I let a Medal of Honor recipient get himself killed in ordinary flight operations. So like it or not, Captain, you're off the flight roster, until you get your head back in the game." The man knew that his admiral would be tough on him. He would be the same, if he was in the admiral's position. And hate the situation he might, he knew the admiral was absolutely correct. He could protest the situation, but unfortunately that wouldn't help his position any.

Naval Station Rota

Rota Spain

Harm stood there looking out at the tarmac of Naval Station Rota. Looking out at the lonely looking VF-41 Black Aces F-14A sitting out on the tarmac, he grinned slightly. The C-2 Greyhound that was supposed to be carrying him was not scheduled to be available for another 48 hours. After notifying Admiral Chegwidden, regarding the delay, which didn't make the admiral very happy, he knew that the investigation would be stalled. An idea popped into his head which probably would drive people there crazy, but he figured 'what the hell… it's worth a shot'.

Walking into Rota Operations, he grinned at the Operations officer a fellow Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy. "Hey, you know what's going on with that F-14A sitting out on the tarmac?"

"Scheduled to go out to the Theodore Roosevelt, this afternoon, but we're having a bit of trouble with regards to getting it out there as the crew; both RIO and front-seater, is down with the flu." Noticing the incongruous JAG mill-rindes with the gold aviator wings. "Sir, what are you asking?"

"You think you might be able to swing it if I might be able to crew up. I've got my aviator designation. Just need to be able to get out to the TR to start an investigation and right now I'm delayed for two days since my COD can't make it in for forty-eight hours."

"I'll see what I can do…can't promise anything, but I'll see with the station commander if it's possible. Just don't break anything or my ass is grass." The Lieutenant Commander grinned, happy to be able to quite possibly get the Tomcat out of his hair a week earlier than planned.

Three hours later

Naval Station Rota

Rota, Spain

Captain William T. (for Thomas) Main had given his blessing for Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr to get that damned fighter bird out of the base where it was taking up space that a potential C-17 delivery could use.

Poor Meg Austin had to cram her khaki uniform that she was wearing into an overnight bag and hustle into a set of flight gear, complete with MA-2 torso harness, speed jeans (G-suit). The HGU-55/P helmet complete with visor down, enabled her to walk out to the F-14A Tomcat without most people noticing her.

"Aircrew swagger". Harm said quietly as they approached the F-14A Tomcat. Those two words told her to loosen up her stride to enable her to more accurately mimic the stride of the competent aircrew, which she was not as a non-line (staff) officer. She looked over at Harm who had a wide grin on his face, along with his RayBans obscuring his eyes; his arm loose at his sides, his helmet bag held in his hand striding out confidently to the Tomcat as if he owned it. The overnight bags were taken out to the aircraft already, being collected from her and Harm as they wrestled into the flight gear.

"Admiral Chegwidden is going to crap bricks". She stage-whispered to Harm.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Was the response complete with an 'I don't care' grin.

Going around and doing the preflight checks, Meg and Harm checked out every nook and cranny, Harm having to double back on his checks. The chief ground crewman noticed this and asked. "Is everything allr right, sir? Seem to be double checking everything."

"Nugget." Harm replied, gesturing at Meg. Once they were settled in the cockpit, the handlers giving the crew assistance in getting strapped into the Tomcat.

As Harm readied the F-14A for flight, his hands fairly flew over the PTIDs, the Programmable Tactical Information Displays. For Meg it was just a ride, but a ride on an F-14 wasn't like a ride in the COD. Her first F-14A flight was simply a ride to and from an airbase, but this one was going to involve a trap onboard the carrier. Looking over the rear instrument panels and radar scope, the turtle deck (the area between the top of the instruments and the front cockpit ejection seat) was clear of obstructions and view between the aviator and RIO was unobstructed. Harm had cautioned her to silence as he didn't want NAVAIR informed that he was taking a non-rated crewmember on an F-14. It was going to get out soon enough, but at least hopefully the shit wouldn't hit the fan until after they were airborne and three-quarters of the way out to the TR where a return to Rota would not be feasible.

Luck was with him as Harm lowered the canopy and wound up the engines. The whine was audible even through the canopy though muted to a high pitched whistle, that didn't cut entirely through their helmet soundproofing. Utilizing rudder pedals, he guided the F-14A Tomcat out to the runway.

"Fast Eagle 117" he said utilizing the Black Aces Tomcat squadron callsign, "Rota Control, request takeoff clearance runway one-zero, transit Tango-Romeo Seven One."

"Roger this is Rota Control," An accented voice from the dual-command tower that was manned by both Spanish Navy and USN controllers. "Request is approved, run way one-zero, transeet Tango-Romeo Seven One."

"Roger that, Rota Control, Have a nice day." Harm said as he thrust the throttles forward into full military power, then released the brakes. "OK, Meg, hang on, we're going flying."

Meg's cheerful laugh filled his ears as she said, "Well, Harm…" one of the rare times that she ever used his first name. "That sounds like fun."

USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71

The Mediterranean

As Harm neared the USS Theodore Roosevelt, he could see the carrier faintly in the distance. "OK, Meg, we're gonna be landing on this postage stamp in a couple of minutes. Lock up your harness and make sure it's tight."

"Aye, that, Hammer." She said utilizing that callsign.

"Marshall, Fast Eagle 117, Marking Moms Two Seven Zero for three six, angels one eight, state 11.6"

"Roger, 117, case II, CV-2 approach, altimeter 29.89, marshall mom's 150 angels 9, expected approach time 20 , approach button 15"

"Roger, that Marshall. 117, case II, CV-2 approach, altimeter 29.89, marshall mom's 150 angels 9, expected approach time 20 , approach button 15"

Descending the Tomcat to 9,000 feet, Harm made another radio call to Marshall. "Marshall, 117 commencing, fuel state, 11.2" Harm then eased his throttles off to a 250 knots idle descent at 4000 fpm with speed brake out. Passing 5000 ft, Harm extended his speed brake slowing his descent to 250 knots and 2000 feet per minute and radioed into Marshall. "117, platform, 9.7"

Approach called back and Harm read back the response. "approach, 117, 18 miles, 7.8"

"Eight miles, ACLS lock-on, call your needles"

"Up and to the right."

"Roger, 117, UP and to the right, Fly Mode 2."

As Harm approached the USS Theodore Roosevelt on glideslope, the radio squawked again. "117, we have you sighted, three quarters of a mile, call the ball."

"117, Tomcat, Ball 4.7 Rabb"

"OK, you're high, ease back on the throttles. You're good, fly the ball…"

Meg was in the back seat watching as the spud locker passed underneath her, a moment later, the Tomcat slammed down on the deck and her body was jolted forward as the third wire trapped them.

"Damn!" she uttered. That landing was violent.

"Fast Eagle 117, power down, you're home. Good three wire."

Harm complied by taxiing over to where the plane captain ushered them and shut the engines down.

Popping the canopy, he stood up.

Seeing the admiral looking down smiling from the flag bridge, he turned around and saluted the flag bridge. Turning around he saw Meg unbuckling from the ejection seat.

"I need to get out of this flight gear," Meg said. "I'm sweaty as hell." She undid her chin-strap on her flight helmet and took her helmet off, letting loose a cascade of blonde curls. Shaking her head, she grinned up at him. "That was a heck of a flight, sir. And a hell of a trap." She grinned. "Maybe I should transfer into aviation."

"You're getting hooked, Meg." Harm replied. "Flying's addictive."

"I bet, sir. And after that flight, I won't disagree with you."

Flag Bridge

USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71

Somewhere in the Mediterranean

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb." Admiral Boone said. "I should have known that you'd do something to get out here quicker than how we expected you. You know you bend a hell of a lot of rules."

"Yes, sir." Harm said.

"Well, listen up. Lieutenant Commander." Boone affixed Harm with a glare that could melt concrete. "That was a nice gesture that you did, bringing that Tomcat out, but if you ever do something like that again, I'm going to dump you over the side of the boat and let you swim back to Rota. You took a big risk bringing that JAG lawyer with you when she's not rated aircrew. And CAG would also chew you a new asshole too. I'm going to ignore that indiscretion, provided it doesn't happen again."

"So, sir, with regards to the case?"

"Yeah." Boone sighed. "It's not a pretty one, the CO of the VF-41 Black Aces getting raped and murdered. Considering that she's one of the first female line commanders in the aviation community, this is going to set off a fucking landmine." Harm looked over at Meg who blanched. Boone looked over at the two of them. "You two are going to keep this on the QT, meaning you shut your holes and keep it zipped. The CAG was involved with the CO and you know what the hell that means. I'm not going to spell it out for you."

"Aye, sir." Harm said.

"The CAG is a Medal of Honor recipient of that little spat in Korea where the F-14 got shot down and the CO won the Navy Cross, for her exploits in Bosnia. Considering how close the two of them were, I was surprised the two of them didn't get together for a long time." There was a knock on the door. " Ah, there's the CAG now. I asked him to come up when I saw you trap." The door opened and a face that Harm hadn't seen for a long time (since flight school) came walking through the door. There was a long drawn look to the face, a combination of grief mixed in with rage and resignation as to Commander O'Bannon's death.

Harm's jaw had just about hit the floor. "Animal?"

"You two know each other?" Admiral Boone asked, looking at both the CAG and at Harm.

"Flight school, sir." Animal replied, his voice was hoarse and dripping with emotion. Harm knew exactly how Animal felt because he had felt the exact same thing less than two years before.

"Then…how…" gestured the admiral, noticing the two rank disparity in rank.

"The blue button, sir. Evidently it helps careers." The sarcasm was apparent. Animal was toeing the thin line of disrespect, just keeping below it with the added 'sir'. It was the apparent friendship between the admiral and the decorated US Navy captain as well as the fact that the admiral knew Harm that kept him from getting dressed down as both were present in the room.

"I see." The admiral said. "You went through flight school together?"

"I was in the first class to go through for that annual evolution, sir." Animal responded. "Harm was in the second class." They didn't have to go through the same class in order for their paths to cross.

The admiral nodded. "Now, Lieutenant Commander Rabb." He said referring to Harm. "You're going to be going through an investigation to see what you can dig up as to Commander O'Bannon's death?"

"Yes, sir." Harm said.

"Then I shouldn't have to tell you that this is to be conducted with the utmost of discretion possible." RADM Boone said. "This is a sensitive case and I don't want it plastered all over the media about the first female Navy squadron commander being murdered on this ship."

"Damage control" Animal said, his eyes showing little emotion. He had compartmentalized his grief and was trying to function, but still emotionally was reeling from it.

Harm had to agree with him. To this day his girlfriend's murder was still cold, and no new leads had cropped up. NCIS Agent Brian Turque had never kept him appraised of whatever leads were generated and the last Turque had saw Harm, Harm was told he was still considered a suspect on the open cold case. Meanwhile the Navy went on, business as usual. Harm couldn't forget; Diane was always at the back of his mind. And the simple fact was that he thanked God for Meg for being his partner because it pulled him out of the office where he wouldn't have to see Diane's clone in the persona of a Major Sarah Mackenzie. Granted the Marine officer had a prickly personality, but she was civil up to a point. Granted the one investigation that he had partnered with the said "Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie" had more than put him off partnering with Mac again. So every opportunity for an investigation had him running out of the office with Meg.

"Well, I let you get to it. I guess you'll start by interviewing the CAG." Tom Boone said.

"Yes, sir. And I'll have to see if there's anyone else that had any dealings with Commander O'Bannon, sir in the last forty-eight hours leading up to her death." Harm said. "Lieutenant JG Austin and I will interview."

"Alright." Boone stated, giving the two JAG officers a hard look. "…but understand that I won't be allowing for any disruptions in the flight schedule. We're on a deployment and we have a job to do."

"Aye, sir!"

CAG'S Office

USS Theodore Roosevelt, CVN-71

Somewhere in the Mediterranean

Animal sat down in his chair behind the desk while he gestured to Lieutenant JG Meg Austin and Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr.

Lieutenant Meg Austin looked at him and asked. "So can you tell us what the NCIS had said?"

Animal looked at her with a frosty glance. "Yeah...from what the NCIS reports say, she was raped and strangled? What sick bastard would go and do that?"

Harm with an knowing glance, grief apparent in his eyes said, "There wasn't any way you could have prevented it."

"Oh, really, Harm?" Animal snapped. "I have black belts in 4 martial arts. I've taken self-defense training and man stopping techniques with the Navy. Who says I couldn't have stopped it?"

"This suspect knew your routines, knew when you weren't with Maegyn and, obviously, he knew how to plan for a time when you weren't around. " Harm replied, knowing that Animal was still in the throes of grief and not thinking straight. "And considering what the report says about this person being obsessive and psychopathic, if you had been around, chances are he would have two victims instead of one.

Animal looked at him and replied, sarcasm well evident in his tone. "Well, thank you for your concern, Harm, but I've had bullets shot at me. People have tried to kill me with long tubes filled with explosives and guidance systems while I was in the air. Do you think some two bit punk would make me afraid of them?"

Harm's gaze inadvertently moved to the shelf where Maegyn's picture still stood. "It has to be deeper than that, wasn't it? As far as the battle group commander was concerned he wanted a cork put on the info." The look on Animal's face affirmed his initial suspicions. "Considering the professional relationship between CAG and Squadron Commander, was it something else that caused the predator to flip out and kill Commander O'Bannon?"

"All right, what do you want to know." Animal's voice increased in volume from a growl to a ROAR. "WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW, RABB!? You want to know how close we were..." he hissed, his face inches from Harm's "WE WERE LOVERS! You want the GORY DETAILS?!." He roared as he came over the desk, grabbed Harm out of the chair by the lapels of his flight jacket, knocking the chair over in the process, and slammed him into the wall. Meg practically jumped out of the chair knocking her own over trying to keep from getting slammed into in the process. "I was SCREWING HER! RABB?! YOU WANTED DETAILS! RABB, YOU GOT IT!" His voice lowered into a menacing hiss, "I want revenge on the S.O.B. who killed my Maegyn. And I want some answers...RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Harm looked into Animal's eyes which showed a rage that wouldn't stop short of seeing the person who killed Maegyn, DEAD. He knew it all too well as that was the same thing he wanted to do to the son-of-a-bitch who had killed Diane. Animal subsided, shaking Harm by the shoulders, then released him…swearing softly under his breath, slumping into his chair. "She was the love of my life." He whispered. Meg looked at him, her eyes understanding the reason for the violent outburst. He was lost without Maegyn. The outburst of violence that Animal had exhibited was out of the ordinary for a guy like him. He was still in shock, still hurt, still enraged. She also knew Harm had ghosts in his closet too. Harm's father was still missing in action, presumed dead but no closure and now Diane; also no closure. By rights, Harm should be bouncing off the wall right now in anger. But Harm, surprisingly was even-keel.

An Unidentified Corner of the Boat

USS Theodore Roosevelt, CVN-71

Somewhere in the Mediterranean

The authorities had come and gotten her remains, but she was a finished project. He knew that the investigators would be on to him, but he'd make their chase much more difficult. After all, he had joined the Navy with a pseudonym. Two weeks till liberty in Venice. All the Navy would know is that one sailor was about to go missing. For all they knew a Seaman was going to go overboard and drown. And all because of one bitch of a woman. She deserved everything she got. The woman was conceited. She had made his life a living hell. Crap maintenance job after crap maintenance job as if her aircraft were the most important thing in the world. And then she took up with that Jap officer as if to flaunt it in his face. They were together all the time. The only place for a woman was in the kitchen. But he had had to answer to her since she wore khakis and all he wore was crackerjacks.

He hadn't wanted to kill her, but just wanted to put her in her place. According to his father, no woman should be above a man. After all, that's why God made her from Adam's rib. She shoulda known her place and kept to it. Then he wouldn't have had to do it. Women had no place on carriers. And everybody should know that. Maybe what he did will do what nothing else had done and get the women out of the combat arms. If he had it, all inferior people would be out of the armed services just as women were. Was his job over? No, he thought, it was just beginning.

Shipboard JAG Office.

USS Theodore Roosevelt, CVN-71

Somewhere in the Mediterranean.

"Commander!" RADM Chegwidden's voice was irritated on the other end of the phone line. "It doesn't matter, we don't prosecute Article 133 for MOH. They're a cut above the ordinary servicemen…and the MOH Society would have a shit-fit if we did. Now what are you saying regarding the relationship with Captain Nakamura and Commander O'Bannon."

"They were lovers, sir." Harm replied. "Captain Nakamura admitted it after making my teeth rattle."

"He hit you?" RADM Chegwidden asked, his voice neutral.

"No, sir, but he damned near put me through a bulkhead slamming me up against the wall."

"You're damned lucky, Rabb. If I was in his place, you'd probably be missing teeth." AJ growled. "Thought you were advised to use discretion?"

"That's what I thought I was using, sir."

"Well evidently you weren't." AJ said flatly. "Understand this, though, Commander, you will not pursue a Article 128 either. Your interview was duress."

"Wasn't thinking of pursuing that course of action, sir." Harm responded. "The Commander was raped and murdered." He left off the end of it… 'just like Diane'. The admiral knew exactly what.

"Do I have to pull you off the case?" AJ asked. "Is this too close to what happened with Lieutenant Schonke?"

CAG'S Office

USS Theodore Roosevelt, CVN-71

Somewhere in the Mediterranean

/Flashback/

"Thirty bucks says mah Boston Bruins beats up yer Rangers." Maegyn grinned as she wrapped her arms around Animal. Animal raised an eyebrow.

"And that spoked wheel's gonna roll over my Rangers? My Rangers are on top, They won the Stanley Cup in '94." Animal retorted. "Fifty bucks says that my Rangers are going to spank your Bruins."

"You're on! And your Rangers had a firesale during the off-season." Maegyn crowed, her green eyes flashing in challenge. "And I swear you are gonna pay up on that bet."

"So, what." Metalman retorted, The Detroit Red Wings are gonna win this year."

Animal and Maegyn looked at him like he was a turd left on Cat 1. "YUCK!" Maegyn groaned. "Naaaaaaaah!" Animal let out a long-drawn out negative. /

Animal sat in his chair in his office as he looked up at Maegyn's photo. It was not going to be easy to forget the affection in Maegyn's voice even when she was at odds with him.

/Flashback/

"Sir, you need to know that there's SAM emplacements lined up along the coast like the Patriot's defensive line. You're not going to get through them." Maegyn's green eyes flashed.

"Commander, you're treading on thin ice, here." Animal snapped back. "And I'm sure that my "jets", no pun intended, are going to find a weakness there. No defence is impregnable."

Maegyn retorted, "With all due respect, sir." She smirked at him. "Your Jets suck this year so the analogy is moot."

Admiral Tom Boone looked at his CAG and his squadron commander with one of his bushy eyebrows raised in question. "Is the lover's squabble over? Can we get back to planning this mission?" He asked, with a wry grin.

Maegyn turned beet red while Animal said, "Yes, sir." And tried to inspect the piping and ductwork in the operations room with his eyes pointed upwards. /

'God,' he thought to himself. 'I miss Maegyn so damned much.' Maegyn was feisty and beautiful with a personality that drew people to her; contrary to his nature which was retiring and not very sociable. But they fit together and people knew that there was chemistry between the CAG and his VF-41 CO. It was as if they were two halves of one whole. Considering how often the CAG and the VF-41 Commanding Officer had put their lives on the line in the line of duty, there wasn't anyone on that boat (save for Maegyn's killer) who would say anything against either of them.

The killer was getting off scot-free as far as he was concerned and Animal wasn't going to not do anything about that. Walking back to his locker, he dialled in the combination and unlocked the safe. Pulling his M92FS Beretta from the locker and two clips, he jammed the loaded magazine into his pocket and stuck the other clip into the sidearm, he jammed the gun behind the belt of his khakis and to the back. He pulled on his flight jacket. The CVW-12 patch with a gold eagle crouching over the vertical carrier signified the 12; the background was the triangular stylized US flag with 2 stars in a blue field and a set of vertical red white red stripes resplendent over the right breast, signified his CAG position; the embroidered name tag reading "TOSHIO NAKAMURA" with his callsign underneath it. He also had a VF-41 patch below that, signifying where he came from. The Tomcat Patch on the right hand shoulder, and the TR Centurion patches just below that decorated his right sleeve. The Naval Fighter Weapons School patch decorated the left shoulder.

Animal opened the door, to find Lieutenant JG Meg Austin on the other side. She didn't have a smile on her face; that was for sure.

"Sir…" Meg said. "You really don't want to do that."

"Why not?" Animal said brusquely, the intensity of his anger catching her off-guard.

"Your Medal of Honor won't protect you, sir. If you do something you'll later regret." She said looking at him with those penetrating blue eyes of hers.

"Why should you care? Why should anyone care?" Animal snapped. "For all I know that bastard will jump ship and no-one would be the wiser. And Maegyn won't be avenged then."

Meg looked at him…there was something there about him that drew her to him like a magnet. "I care, sir. I care that you don't throw away an illustrious career; a future." Looking around to see that there wasn't anyone else in the hallway, she reached out and touched his arm. "Sir, if you are going to search for whoever did this to Commander O'Bannon. Do me a favor?" she swallowed a moment. "Take me with you."

"Why?" Animal looked suspiciously at her.

"To keep you from doing something that will come back to haunt you, sir." Meg said.

"Why, why do you want to save me?" Animal asked.

"I don't know." Meg said. "There's just something there…that I don't know. Chalk it up to giving a damn about you, sir."

"I'm a crusty ol' aviator that's used up most of his nine lives, Lieutenant Austin. It's not going to matter much at all what happens to me." Animal looked at her raising an eyebrow. "Saving my career doesn't mean a goddamned thing when it comes to avenging Maegyn."

"Do you really think so, sir? Are you trying to tell me that I should let you go after the guy, perhaps get killed yourself or end up being cited for capital murder and have you get sent to Leavenworth to Death Row?" Meg looked at him "Don't ask me to do that, sir, because I can't." Meg's words sunk in, as she noticed Animal's shoulders slump. "Let Lieutenant Commander Rabb do his job, sir. He'll bring Maegyn's killer to justice."

"You'd better hope so…Lieutenant." Animal said ominously as he pulled his Beretta out, dropping the clip into the palm of his hand, racking back the chamber to release the chambered round, and then deposited the clip back into his back pocket.

'Damn aviators and their gold wings.' Meg cursed to herself later as Animal drew her through a maze of corridors. 'Why is it that they're so bloody arrogant and attractive at that, so much so that I want to save them from themselves! First Harm, now Animal.'

They had stopped by a hatch with the zap sticker of the VF-41 Black Aces Squadron; this was their Ready Room. It was mid-briefing. The XO currently was the temporary replacement squadron commander until someone could be flown in from Virginia Beach. Opening the hatch, Animal walked in. "CAG on DECK!" resounded through the ready room, as pilots snapped to attention standing up from their ready-room padded chairs. Eyes also fixated on the blonde JAG officer who trailed Animal into the room. "As you were!" growled Animal as he stalked in.

Harm gave the two a wide grin. "Hey…Animal. Glad to see you. Meg?" He gave her an especially wide grin seeing as to how close Meg and Animal were standing. "Nice to see you could join us." Noting the CAG was wearing his flight jacket, he mentioned. "I hope that thing is on safety."

Animal grimaced as he remembered the M92FS nestled in the small of his back, ready to pull out and use if he found Maegyn's killer.

Harm motioned for Meg to come over. Pulling her to the side where no-one else could hear them converse, he whispered softly. "You sure you know what you're getting yourself into? Lieutenant?" The intent was conveyed clear.

"I know for one, that he wasn't involved. And considering how distraught he is, sir." Meg whispered back, "I figured he'd do something to track down the killer and then pay him back the favor, sir. And…"

"And, what? Lieutenant."

"That's why I went to him, sir. To prevent him from doing something that he would regret…to save his career, sir." Meg said.

Harm eyeballed her sceptically. Evidently, Meg wasn't telling him all that was going on in that pretty little head of hers. "You know the allure of dress whites and gold wings." He gave her that big grin of his, that worked so well on other females. It didn't work as well anymore.

"I'm sorry, sir…" she smirked back at him. "I've never seen him in dress whites and gold wings." As she turned to go back to Animal's side, she grinned and retorted. "but he fills out that set of khakis really well…" and a further shot to Harm's ego. "…and that blue ribbon with the white stars: rounds out that physique so nicely." *BOOM*.

Score one for Meg Austin. She could definitely give as good as she got. He smiled wryly as he watched how close Animal and Meg stood to each other. But Animal was oblivious and that was to be expected. Having lost a lover, he wasn't the slightest bit interested in opening his heart again to be hurt again. Maybe that was wise considering the killer was still on board.

Harm resolved that this investigation would need to go into high gear and that Animal needed to be a part of it so that he could find closure. He could only hope that he'd find the same closure with regards to Diane's death that he was hoping that he could do for his old flight-school chum.

JAG HQ

"Major Mackenzie, I'd like you and Lieutenant JG Bud Roberts to augment the investigation on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt." RADM AJ Chegwidden said, seated behind his oak desk. "I've been hearing some disturbing things coming from the investigation and I want another pair of investigators on it."

The brunette Marine Corps major stood stiffly, Lieutenant JG Bud Roberts at her side. "Yes, sir."

"Be on the COD by 1500 hrs." The admiral said, his back towards them as he gazed out the window.


End file.
